Broken
by Ashen Lilies
Summary: Russia comes across a lost, lonely girl and decides to help her out. Story is a LOT better than the description, will probably become Russia x OC.
1. Chapter 1

**So I know I should be working on updates, but it's been a rough year and I had a tiny pocket of time so I thought I'd write a little blurb :) **

Ivan Bragninski scowled and looked at the ground as he made his way home. It had been a bad day. The same bad day he'd been having for years, filled with endless boring meetings, international paperwork, and constant badgering from his boss. Sure, he was a personification of a country, so he knew his job would not ever be easy, but for once couldn't he have just a bearable day? _It's not fair, _he thought to himself as he kicked an empty soda can in his path. As he continued on his usual path to his apartment, he heard a voice, and gentle, sad, female voice from around the corner, and a guitar backing it. He raised an eyebrow and turned the corner to discover the source of the music.

There, atop a low wall sat a young woman, strumming a guitar and singing slowly. Her voice was heavy with emotion, but that was not was caught Ivan's attention. She wasn't singing in Russian. She sang in English, unmarred by Russian accent. _She sounds American_, Ivan mused, _what is one of Alfred's citizens doing here_? Ivan stepped closer to listen to what the girl was singing. Her eyes were closed lightly as she sang, swaying gently, and he could now see dried tear tracks streaking her face. Ivan frowned, _I wonder __what's wrong_? She breathed in and began the next verse of the song.

"Far and away, where they took you down I lead them over to your house where I'm broken…  
Down by the people if they let you breath don't give a damn if you still can't see,  
Still my heart beats for you."

Ivan was stunned by the sadness in the young woman's voice. She sang as if her heart was in shatters on the ground, and he could hear her strain to hold back fresh tears.

"That's a sad song." He commented out loud. Her eyes flew open, and she jumped a little in surprise.

"O-Oh, hello. I didn't realize anyone had walked up." She said, furiously wiping her eyes to conceal her emotion.

He gave her a small smile, "You sing it very beautifully," he said as she blushed, "But a girl as pretty as you are should not sing with such sadness. Are you alright?"

Her eyes shone with new tears and she laughed bitterly "Oh I'm just dandy…no house, no family, no food…nothing. My boyfriend was the only person I knew in this entire country and he just…up and told me to leave." She now imitated a masculine voice with a thick Russian accent, "Out, ты, сука, Out! If you aren't going to pull your weight around here then get out and don't come back!" tears now ran down her face, and her voice hitched with sobs, "What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go? I've got what like, 5 American dollars and this damn guitar!" Ivan's frown deepened, but he waited for her to catch her breath before speaking.

"If…If you need someplace, you can sleep in my apartment." He said abruptly. The girl gave him a quizzical look, "I know that sounds unusual coming from a complete stranger, but uh," he stuttered, trying to convey to her that he wasn't some sleaze who wanted to do wrong with her, "But, you know, you are a very pretty young girl and it's dangerous for you to stay out here all alone at night."

"No, I get what you mean…would you really be willing to help me out?" she asked, her voice filled with hope.

"Of course! Now, let's get out of the cold. My house is just about a block away, da?" he said, smiling and offering her his hand. She returned it warmly, and slung her guitar over her shoulder and placed her thin cold hand in his.

Ivan's heart leaped in happiness. He never let on, but secretly he was a very lonely individual. No friends, so pets, and no family besides his two odd sisters (who he did his best to avoid.) It made him very happy to be able to help someone and not frighten them. But what made him happiest was how easily the girl had accepted his offer. She showed no fear, no hesitation, only gratitude. He squeezed her hand, and she looked up and smiled at him.

"I forgot to ask, what is your name, малютка?" he asked.

"Eileen." _What a pretty name,_ Ivan thought with a smile.

"Well, I'm Ivan." He said.

They made their way to Ivan's apartment, and Eileen looked around. "Nice place." She commented softly.

"Thank you. Now, are you hungry? Do you want anything?" he asked hospitably.

Her pale cheeks blushed pink, "No, I'm just really tired."

Ivan shed his large overcoat, and turned to her, "Well, you can sleep in my bed and I can sleep on the couch."

"Oh no, no that's alright! I can sleep on the couch, it's your house, you should sleep in your bed!" she protested.

"Da, it is my home, which is why my guest should have the comfort of a bed." He said with a smile.

She laughed, "Whatever you say…"

"Let me show you were it is." He said, striding off down the hall.

She followed him to the end of the short hall to a small, blue bedroom. She walked over to the blue and white bed and flopped down.

"Damn you've got a nice bed."

He laughed his deep, good natured laugh, "Thanks. Well, I'll let you settle in. I've got some old t-shirts in the second drawer of the dresser if you need something else to sleep in. Goodnight Eileen!" he said as he closed the door.

"'night!" she answered back. After he closed the door, she shed her coat, top and bra, but left her pants on. She went to the send drawer of the dresser and pulled out a old, soft red t-shirt. As she put it on she breathed in its scent. Old spice and something else…what was that, pine? _Wow I'm creepy, sniffing this guy's clothes._ She snickered to herself, and climbed up on the bed, throwing the thick covers back. This too smelled of old Space and the other strange, piney scent. She smiled comfortable and sank into the bed, her eyes soon growing heavy and falling shut.

**This was super random, and may or may not be continued. Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A big thank you to everyone who reviewed! The song Eileen was singing when Ivan met her was "Broken" by Jake Bugg (the obvious inspiration for this story.) Here's chapter two, hope you like it!**

Ivan woke up sore and stiff from his night on the couch. He stood up, groaning quietly as a deep throbbing pain flared up in his shoulders. Rolling his shoulders to try and loosen them, he made his way down the hall to check in on his guest. But when he opened the heavy white door, he was surprised to find that Eileen was nowhere to be seen. His bed was neatly folded, with his red shirt and a note on top of the pillow. Ivan picked up the note, which read:

"_It was incredibly kind of you to allow me to spend the night. I didn't want to disturb you any further, so I left before you woke up. Thanks again, and I hope we'll see each other sometime in the future._

_-Eileen"_

Ivan frowned and set the note back on the bed. _She didn't have to leave! I hope she didn't think it she was a burden or disturbance…_ he thought. Forgetting entirely about work, he put back on his heavy tan overcoat, and headed out the door in search of Eileen.

_I hope she doesn't think I'm creepy…but she didn't have to rush off like that. And besides, she's got nowhere to go, she could stay with me as long as she wanted! _He thought to himself. _I hope she's ok, this isn't the safest place for beautiful young American woman…_

Ivan wandered back to where he had found her the night before and was disappointed to find she was not there. He walked through all the surrounding streets looking for her, all without any luck. He had been looking for a half an hour when he was about to give up. But in one last attempt to find her, he walked past a small pocket-park between streets, and heard her same high, gentle voice ringing through the air, accompanied by acoustic guitar. Coming into the small park, he smiled when he saw that it was in fact Eileen, perched upon a bench strumming her guitar and singing with her dark green eyes closed. Her song was not as sad or slow as the song she had sung the night before, rather it had a country flare with a deeper tone. He walked up right next to her to listen as she sang

"Well there's things that never will be changed I know, and things need changing everywhere you go. But till we start to make a move to make a few things right, you'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Oh I'd love to wear a rainbow every day, and tell the world that everything's ok…but I'll try and carry off a little darkness on my back, till things are brighter, I'll be wearing black."

As she strummed the final chord of the song, Ivan broke into applause, and Eileen was once again brought back from her trance.

"Ivan!" she exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Don't you have work?"

He laughed, "You're a hard woman to find! Why did you leave so soon?" he asked.

She looked at the ground in slight embarrassment, 'Well I mean…I didn't want to be a burden to you." She answered quietly.

He lifted her face to look at him with a large gloved hand, "Eileen, you are no burden to me. You said it yourself, you have nowhere to go, and you know no one in this country. You can stay with me as long as you need to." He said with a gentle smile.

"Are you sure? I mean really, I don't want to cause you any trouble. You shouldn't have to deal with some kid's mistake." She said, her voice tainted with shame.

Ivan furrowed his brow, "How old are you, Eileen?"

She mumbled something unintelligible, "What did you say dear?" he asked quietly.

"I…I just turned 18 about a week ago." She whispered.

Ivan was shocked, "Do your parents know you were over here living with your boyfriend?"

Eileen could no longer bear to look into his soft, violet eyes, "…Yes and no. The night I left, we kind of…had a huge falling out. We all said things we didn't really mean but...they basically told me to leave and never come back. So I did…and now look. I'm stuck here all alone and I just don't know what to do!" she said, and Ivan could hear the tears building in her voice. He sat down on the bench next to her, and pulled her into his arms.

"Shh. Everything's going to be alright. Things like this always work themselves out in the end." He wiped the tears from her eyes, and they stood up together.

"Now. How about you come stay with me until this all starts to blow over, Da?" he asked kindly.

She nodded and smiled up at him, and he put his arm around her as they walked back to Ivan's apartment.

**I'm sorry if this is like, too feely and mushy for some people :/. Please review anyway!**

**The song Eileen sang this chapter was "Man in Black" by Johnny Cash. **


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